


Will you still be here tomorrow, or will you leave in the dead of night?

by storiesthatmakeus



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Fluff, Love, M/M, Moving On Together, Reflection, Robert's a bit unsure and Aaron is a comforting cutie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 00:33:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13042806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesthatmakeus/pseuds/storiesthatmakeus
Summary: Set post-reunion.Robert has moved back in, but Aaron is baffled as to why he hasn't unpacked until he realises the reason why.Comforting and fluff ensues!





	Will you still be here tomorrow, or will you leave in the dead of night?

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this came from, but I love the idea of vulnerable Robert and Aaron is the one to convince him.
> 
> Enjoy!

He hadn’t noticed it at first. Well, that was a lie; he had noticed it, couldn’t help but notice every time he tripped over one of Robert’s bags that remained un-emptied on the floor of their bedroom, a week after he had moved back in. His husband only had three bags in the end, surprisingly little considering his seemingly endless supply of ridiculous shirts, but maybe he had become a minimalist in the time they had been apart.

The difference was, while he had noticed it, he hadn’t registered it, not properly. Hadn’t been given the chance to, not when every time he mentioned it, Robert would distract him with a searing kiss or a filthy innuendo about unpacking something else that would make his head spin and forget the three massive bags threatening to entangle his legs every morning and night.

So he never registered it, and what it meant, until one morning it all fell into place. He had passing their room on the way to the stairs after pounding on Liv’s door to get her up for school when he saw him; Robert, neatly packing away his toiletries into their designated bag, and putting said bag back into one of the other bags he still hadn’t unpacked. He watched from the corner of the landing as Robert shrugged on his leather jacket, all ready to go even though Aaron knew he didn’t have to leave for another twenty minutes and would sit at the table reading the paper before he headed off.

It hit him then, all the times Robert sat on the couch or at the table wearing his jacket, or that long grey coat that did things to Aaron that he would never voice aloud. How every time they kissed, he let it linger just a bit longer, like he was savouring it to keep him going. How, during the few times they’d had sex since they found their way back to each other, Robert had taken it so slowly, like he was never going to get the chance to make love to his husband again. In that moment, the penny dropped, and he knew what his husband was doing. 

 

He was making the most of their time together, but he was always preparing to say goodbye.

 

Twenty minutes later, with the paper having been read, Robert leaned in to kiss Aaron goodbye, and Aaron poured everything he had into that small kiss, trying to say things he couldn’t with words. It elicited a curious look from Robert, and Aaron didn’t miss the moment a hint of worry flashed across his husband’s face that this was a goodbye kiss, so Aaron pulled him back down to his level.

‘’I’ll see you later.’’ He whispered in his ear, and he could almost hear the sigh of relief.

As soon as Robert was gone, Aaron pounded up the stairs, and in twenty minutes flat, three bags had been unpacked, all the items in their appropriate homes. With his job done, he headed off to work, feeling lighter in a way he hadn’t realised he needed.

 

 

Aaron was sprawled across the couch, tinkering on his phone when he heard the key twist in the door nearly ten hours later and a tired looking Robert appeared.

‘’Hey.’’ He said softly as Robert closed the door behind him.

‘’God am I glad to see you.’’ Robert breathed as he knelt down next to Aaron.

‘’Rough day?’’ Aaron asked gently as he pulled Robert in for a soft, lingering kiss. It was what they did now; whoever was home first would welcome the other back with a kiss, sometimes quick, sometimes long and languid, just like this one. It was a comfort for both of them, this new routine they had developed in the short time they had spent together back in their home.

‘’Longest meetings of my life. But I can see you’ve had a productive day.’’ Robert smirked as he pulled back from the kiss and raked his eyes over Aaron and then the masses of empty sweet wrappers on the coffee table.

‘’You could say that.’’ Aaron smirked back. ‘’What do you fancy for tea tonight?’’

‘’Something quick and full of bad stuff that we’ll regret in an hour’s time.’’

‘’I’ll ring the pizza place then. Where are you going?’’ Aaron asked as he watched Robert back away towards the stairs.

‘’I need a shower, but I’ll be done in time for the food.’’

‘’What happened to you being a _morning shower_ kind of guy?’’

‘’Still that guy, but I need to wash those meetings off me.’’

‘’That bad then?’’ Robert nodded. ‘’Go, I’ll get the grub sorted.’’

He watched Robert head up the stairs from his position on the couch, but he made no movements to order the food, knowing it would be mere seconds before his husband came back down, questioning where his poncy shower gel – along with everything else – had disappeared to.

Right on cue, Robert appeared at the top of the stairs, looking around below him as though expecting to see all his stuff at the door, and Aaron’s heart clenched.

‘’Aaron, where’s all my stuff?’’

‘’I took care of it.’’ Aaron replied casually.

‘’What…where have you put it?’’ Robert quizzed nervously as he descended the stairs.

‘’In its rightful place.’’

‘’Aaron, just tell me.’’

‘’Okay, fine. I saw you this morning, putting your toothbrush back in its little bag when you were done. Why didn’t you leave it in the bathroom in that ridiculous holder you had installed?’’

‘’I don’t know… force of habit.’’ Robert replied quietly, not meeting Aaron’s gaze.

‘’Right, so all those months you were at Vic’s, you kept your toothbrush in a bag yea, not in the bathroom?’’ Robert’s heavy silence answered Aaron’s question. ‘’You don’t have to explain anything Robert, because I already know.’’

‘’Know what?’’

‘’I know why you haven’t unpacked yet. Why you never take your jacket off, even when we’re not planning on leaving the house.’’

‘’It’s nothing…just…’’ Robert was struggling to find words as he glanced around him, and the look on his face was the final straw for Aaron, who sprung up from his position on the couch, reaching his husband in two strides and looking him dead in the eye.

‘’You’re always ready to leave, because you’re scared I’ll change my mind.’’

Aaron saw the moment Robert’s face changed as he realised he had been caught out, and he waited patiently for his husband to speak.

‘’Won’t you?’’ Robert asked finally, and the shy quiver in his voice broke Aaron’s heart.

‘’Why would you think that?’’

‘’Because I broke your heart, what if I do it again?’’

‘’Are you planning on breaking my heart again?’’

‘’No…I would never…’’ Robert replied instantly, and Aaron cupped his face in his hands.

‘’Robert, look at me.’’ And Robert did look at him, on the first try. ‘’My heart has always been a little bit broken, was that way before you even entered my life. But we’ve fixed it together in ways I could never have imagined, just like we’ve fixed our house together from the wreck that it was.’’

‘’Our house?’’ Robert repeated, his face uncertain as he looked for clarification in Aaron’s eyes. Aaron suddenly hit upon an idea, and taking Robert’s hand in his, he led him closer to the couch they had just kissed on and pointed to it.

‘’This is _our_ couch, where I’ll fall asleep on your shoulder under a massive blanket while you watch one of your poxy superhero films and complain about the terrible villain.’’

Aaron led him into the kitchen, stopping by the kitchen table and waiting for Robert to stop glancing around hesitantly before he carried on speaking.

‘’This is _our_ kitchen, and I’ll come home from work to see Liv at the table, buried deep in coursework and my gorgeous husband will be cooking tea and helping her with her homework, because he’s the only man who can chop chorizo and prove a mathematical theorem at the same time.’’

Aaron turned on his heel; his hand still clasped in Robert’s, and led him up the stairs, where they came to a standstill outside Liv’s closed door.

‘’This is _our_ little sister’s bedroom, and on nights when she’s come home after having a fight with Gabby or some idiotic boy…’’

‘’Or girl.’’ Robert interjected.

‘’Or girl.’’ Aaron agreed. ‘’We’ll take turns sitting outside this very door asking if she’s okay, until you lose patience and just barge in and threaten murder on whoever’s hurt her and then she’ll hug you but deny all knowledge of it if you tell me.’’

After letting Robert stare at Liv’s door for an appropriate amount of time – probably making a mental list of how many ways he could murder anyone who wronged his little sister – Aaron guided him to their final stop. Bringing him to a standstill in front of their bed, Aaron lifted Robert’s chin up so that they were gazing at each other intently.

‘’This house, and everything in it is _ours_ , Robert. But this,’’ Aaron continued, taking Robert’s hand and placing it over his own heart, ‘’this is all yours.’’

‘’Aaron, you don’t…’’ Robert interrupted, tears brimming in his eyes.

‘’All yours.’’ Aaron repeated, ‘’and this bedroom, _our_ bedroom, is where I will prove that to you over and over, for as long as you need me to.’’

‘’I don’t know what to say.’’ Robert said, his voice cracking.

‘’Say whatever you feel.’’ Aaron encouraged gently.

‘’It scares me how much I love you Aaron, how much I don’t deserve this chance again.’’ Robert finally admitted.

‘’You do deserve this Robert. We both do. No changing our minds this time.’’

‘’You promise?’’

Aaron laced his fingers through Robert’s other hand, bringing them together and holding them tightly, feeling the warmth pass through him as he looked his husband in the eye.

‘’I promise. I’ve spent months trying to deny my feelings for you Robert, pretend they had gone away, but this, us, what we have…it’s…well it’s…’’

‘’Undeniable.’’ Robert finished softly, pulling Aaron in closer and pressing their foreheads together.

‘’I love you Robert Sugden.’’

‘’I love you more Aaron Dingle.’’

Aaron pressed his lips softly to Robert’s, taking him in a deep, long kiss. He felt Robert’s hands snake down to his back, and he knew what was coming as Robert slowly guided him backwards and gently lowered him onto the bed. As they stripped each other slowly and Robert kissed every inch of Aaron before filling him up, Aaron could feel the change in the man inside him. He was savouring it still, but he wasn’t preparing for the end; he was welcoming a new beginning, and that was the difference.

 


End file.
